Deception Point
by Lioness-Rampant
Summary: What happens when something just doesnt make any sense? 1 yr after Jump Push Fall, the morgue and the PD find themselves searching for one answer: Where's Jordan?
1. Chapter 1

It just didn't make any sense.

Sure they had argued like cats and dogs the past few days over a case, but in the end, Jordan had been right. The body was found along the river, a single gunshot wound to the head. Unfortunately for the Medical Examiner's Office, this particular body belonged to the son of a major diamond collector and soon the case became sustenance for the press. She had relentlessly pursued her hunches; had relentlessly badgered him with her facts. She had theorized that there was more to the father/son relationship that met the eye; that perhaps the son had come by some knowledge he was never supposed to have and was killed for it.

She had gone up against one of the most powerful families in Boston and won. Just yesterday the DA had publicly sung her praises on national television. When he had heard, he really hadn't had any other choice but to let her goad him to her hearts content. It wasn't every day one's former worst enemy did something like that.

And former enemies they were. In her efforts to keep her morgue family together, she had compelled to whomever she had to in order to get him exonerated from all charges and returned as CME for the City of Boston. She has succeeded with Renee as a willing accomplice. Renee claimed that Slocum didn't bring out the ME's drive to solve cases as Garret had done. Jordan knew better.

Garret sighed. Something just wasn't right with this picture.

In the last year, Jordan had turned over a new leaf. She was, for lack of a better term, softer. It didn't mean that she still didn't move heaven and hell in her search for the truth, but it was almost like she had suddenly learned to value her life and the people in it. She asked for professional opinions; she willingly included people in her investigations. She didn't do things alone or ran over people to get her way. He assumed that it had something to do with Woody's coldness to her when he was shot; maybe even his own dismissal from the morgue as well.

Jordan was still Jordan, headstrong and determined, but she had let her "wall" down, brick by brick. She was also a bit more level-headed, a little more reserved. And when she thought no one was looking, she was also a little bit sad. Her work was still flawless, but she had changed her methods of getting her answers. A little less forceful and aggressive, she was now a master of observation and persuasion. She saw more and did more, legally, with the help of her friends at the Boston PD.

Those friends didn't include Woody though. The subject was more or less taboo around the morgue, but they all knew about what had happened in that hospital room. He had recovered and was working again, but seldomly with Jordan. They way they acted around each other was perfect professional civility; Garret knew it killed her to have to pretend nothing had ever happened between them.

And so, she had befriended another detective on the force with just as much passion for the truth. Detective Santana had become an asset to the morgue family despite her occasional rudeness. Jordan and the rest of the ME's valued her intuitive analysis of a crime and Jordan saw a little bit of herself in the young detective. With Santana and Renee in tow, Jordan had made a triage fit for justice and the truth.

Jordan had gone out of her way to let her friends know that she did appreciate them and their friendship. She made it a point to work with Bug more, and ask him his advice. She helped Nigel out when he was stuck on a case for a change, and lent him her ears when he needed someone to talk to. She had cornered Lily one day and had given her a hug. Since then, Lily had taken a more active role in Jordan's investigations, giving her psychological perspective on cases which left Jordan stumped for answers. Jordan had recruited Sydney to help her defend Garret's other cases against Slocum and a committee she called "the evil CME wannabees from hell." But what really bonded Sydney and Jordan together was a case they had stumbled on a case involving a little girl and her two brothers. Jordan helped Sydney put himself back together after he realized that he was plagued with thoughts of his own family in that predicament.

And then there was himself. They had spoken about his actions and Jordan had forgiven him. "I was never angry at you Garret," she had said, "I knew there had to be a reason. Was I disappointed? Sure. But we all have flaws and you are still the most honorable man I have ever met. You're a good man Garret."

On his first day back to work, he found himself walking into a welcoming party, courtesy of Jordan. Since then, Jordan would find something talk to him about everyday. Be it because of a case, whether the sun would shine the next day, or even regarding some of the deeper thoughts in her mind, she would always come in either in the morning when she first walked in, or on her way out for the evening.

Recounting all those things in his head, Garrett reexamined the paper he held in his hands.

It just didn't make any sense.

A year ago, maybe, he thought, even though it wasn't likely. Definitely not likely today

He sighed and put the paper back down on his desk. It was 7:03am on a Monday morning. Picking it up once again, a line he must have skimmed over caught his attention. Suddenly remembering one of his conversations with her, he got the feeling that something was indeed very wrong. He yanked the phone off its holder and dialed a very familiar number.

"Nigel? It's Garrett, listen can you come in as quickly as possible? It's Jordan."

* * *

Woody was exhausted. He had been a part of a two-day stakeout outside a drug lord's home. They had been successful in catching a drug exchange and apprehending the guy, but now he was ready to drop dead. He wearily took off his jacket and shirt and made his way over to the mail.

Crap. Crap. Water bill. Crap. Crap. And more crap.

With a sigh he made his way over to his room when he saw that he had a message waiting for him on voicemail.

Irritated, he debated not hearing it until he got some sleep but his judgment outweighed his tiredness. What if it was important, he reasoned.

He pushed the button to hear the message. He went to check his caller ID and realized that he had gotten two calls from the same "Unknown Caller," one right after the other.

Fighting the familiar sense of dread before it overtook him, he drummed his fingers on his nightstand while waiting for the message to come on.

Woody felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up when he recognized the voice on his machine.

"Woody, please pick up. Woody! I'm begging you, please. I've been ki-"

And then it just stopped. Silence.

"No more messages"

He quickly replayed the message and swore. Even in his alarm, he could hear the urgency, the pleading, the desperation in her voice. He heard her fear. Cursing loudly, he grabbed the machine and rushed out the door with only one thought on his mind- Jordan was in trouble.

* * *

By 8:00am, Garret had assembled everyone who mattered into the tiny conference room.

Nigel. Lily. Bug. Sydney. Renee. Santana.

It was almost everyone.

"Dr. Macy, what's going on?" Nigel asked, a worry line already accentuated on his forehead. He feared that whatever problem Jordan had gotten herself into had to be grave or they all wouldn't be there.

Clearing his throat, Garret began. "I've called all of you here because while in any other circumstance I wouldn't done anything but resign myself, my instincts tell me that there is something going on." Turning to look out the window, he couldn't find the words to voice his concern.

Lily was the only one who voiced their overwhelming confusion. "Garret?"

Then, all hell broke loose. They could all hear the commotion out in front; the raised voices, the loud footsteps running towards them. The door was jerked wide open and there stood Woody, panting. Woody could only voice one thing.

"Where is she?"

The receptionist dashed in the room, "I'm so sorry Dr. Macy, but he insisted on seeing you. I told him you were all in a meeting but he ran right past me."

Everyone glanced at Woody's rumpled appearance and turned to look at Garret.

"It's alright," Garret said gently, ushering the woman out the door. "Just don't let anyone else disturb us until we're done."

Shutting the door, Garret found himself standing head to head with the detective.

"I asked you a question Garret. Where is she?" asked a panicked voice.

Although not happy with Woody for his treatment of Jordan, Nigel hurriedly stepped up and grabbed him from his shoulder. "Woody man, Dr. Macy was just getting to that before you barged in."

Motioning for them to sit down, Garret felt his own fears quadruple at the sight of the fear in Woody's eyes. Fear for Jordan. Despite that, he couldn't help but feel his meeting complete with the presence of the detective.

"As I was saying before, I wouldn't have called you all like this had I not thought it was important," he began. Taking an over-read piece of paper out of his coat pocket, Garret held it up for everyone to see. "I found this in my email this morning. It's from Jordan. It's a letter of resignation. It says she's running again."

That resulted in a loud gasp from everyone in the room. Having had her face buried in her arms, Lily looked up startled, "She wouldn't do that Garret. She wouldn't. Not now. She just wouldn't."

Nodding heavily, Garret said, "I know Lily, which is exactly why I called you all here. I raked through everything that has happened lately and it doesn't make any sense. As surprising as it is for me to say it, it's not like her to do something like this."

Woody got up and slammed his fists on the table, "Damn it," he swore. Grabbing the answering machine and looking for somewhere to plug the thing, he said, "I've been on a stake out for the last two days. I got home and I had a message on my machine." Finished with his task, he mutely pressed play.

Woody sighed and raked his hands through his hair. He hadn't tried to be friendly with her since his return to the force. It had just been easier to keep away from her. Now all he wanted was to see her working desperately on a case. Safe.

The machine came alive. As Jordan's voice echoed through the room, it brought more questions than it did answers.

Garret felt the breath get knocked out from him.

Bug and Nigel looked at each other, already thinking of all the tests they could run on the tape, hoping against hope that the message was telling them something else, something other than what everyone was thinking.

Renee got up and headed for the corner, hoping the stray rays of the sun could warm up the fear settling in her heart. She shivered and hugged herself.

Santana's eyes became cold and calculating. Turning to look at Walcott, they locked eyes and came to silent conclusion that they wouldn't rest until they had answers.

Finding her brain going through everything at the speed of light, Lily tried to focus. 'Calm down, just calm down. There has to be a rational explanation for this. It can't be what I think it is. It can't be.'

"My caller ID said the call was name from an unknown number," Woody said, breaking the silence.

Thinking back to something, Garret grabbed the paper and thrust it into Woody's hands. "Look here. Does this mean anything to you?"

Glancing to the line in question, Woody read.

'The locket. Situation a while ago. Taken. The answer is in my mother's locket. This time it's me'

Only confusion showed in his eyes at first. He paced anxiously, cursing himself for not being able to think clearly. "Taken…" Turning abruptly to face the room, he swallowed hard before saying, "Taken. She's been taken. Kidnapped."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own CJ! There, I said it!**

**Also thanks to all the reviewers! You all made my day!**

**Suggestions, comments, whatever – I want to hear it all, especially with this chapter.**

* * *

'Damn,' was all Jordan could think of as she tried to lift herself from a heavy fog.

'What in the world…?'

All of sudden it came back to her.

Pulling a double at the morgue and feeling too exhausted to think.

Barely making it to her apartment door as her body begged for rest.

Feeling a gun on the side of her head telling her to open the door quietly so as to not wake up the neighbors.

She remembered feeling her adrenaline spike as she opened the door and tried to rush in. She remembered a man sticking his foot in the door and prying it open before she had a chance to close it. He had then grabbed her from behind and slammed her against the door, holding her there until he was satisfied she wouldn't try anything again.

She had screamed. He had tried to silence her with his hands. So she had done the only thing she could think of. She had bitten him. Hard.

The man had backhanded her. "Shut up or I won't think twice of poppin' ya in the skull with this one," he had said, waving his gun at her. The sandy brown-haired, burly man had pointed the gun to the side of her head and had pulled her to her computer, where she had been instructed to type.

"_What?_" she had incredulously asked.

The man laughed, "Ya heard me doc. Loud and clear. Type."

She had looked around her kitchen for any stray weapons and had stilled her gaze on her knives before feeling the gun on the base of her neck and a voice in her ear. "Wouldn't do that if I were you lass. Wouldn't even think about it. Wouldn't want anyone to get hurt now would ye?"

"What do you want? Who are you?" she had asked, trying to buy herself some time to think.

"Me? I'm nothing but a good lad trying to make me self some hard earned living," he had told her with a laugh. "The question really, is who hired me to get to you," with a dramatic sigh, he shook his head and moved the gun from her neck to her temple. "For right now though, all ye need to know is that if ye don't want anyone's to get hurt," he said pointing to a picture she kept of everyone, "ye'll do all I say."

The man had told her to write up a letter of resignation. "And make it real doc. I've been trailin' ya for a long time now, so I'll have a pretty fine idea if it's real or not. If not… well then, I'll just have to visit a few of these nice lookin' people here won't I?" he threatened with mirth in his voice.

And so she remembered typing. She remembered hoping that Garret would understand what she was trying to say. That he would think it strange even for her to run this way. Once that was done, the man had gotten her up and instructed her to pack a bag.

"Wouldn't want anyone to chase ya now would we doc?"

Next thing she knew she was being pulled towards an old, gray Chevy. She had been handcuffed to the door and soon found herself driving far, far away from home.

She remembered a few hours passing by. She had avidly tried to follow where she was being taken to, but had found that she had no idea where she was. Pretty soon she heard the man swearing up a storm next to her and saw that they were pulling into a gas station.

"Of all the times for this to happen… listen doc, this old tank can't hold 'em like I'm used to so we'll be taking a little gas break. Sit tight now, ya hear?" he had said laughing; "Don't ya go anywhere now!"

'Well at least he has a sense of humor' she had thought wryly. She had quickly scoped out the scene but had come up empty. 'There's no one. Not even a pay phone. Damn it.'

"All righty doc. This is where ye gets off I'm afraid," he told her as he unceremoniously uncuffed her and deposited her into the arms of a tall, well built man.

Contrary to her first abductor, this man had a menacing aura that clung to him like a second skin. He had wordlessly shoved her in the backseat of what she had assumed was a stolen police car and were off.

After a few minutes she had asked him, "What do you want with me?"

The man had just coldly looked at her through the rearview mirror and licked his lips. "Unfortunately I was ordered to bring you intact; you're someone else's prize it seems, otherwise…"

The man's voice and implications had given her chills. She hadn't been frightened until now, not really. She had assumed that she would find a way out, that her previous captor would screw up somewhere along the line allowing her to escape. She hadn't counted on there being more than one hired hand. 'I need to think. Nothing is going to happen to me. Nothing. I'm going to get out this.'

But this man had taken it upon himself to play on her worst fears.

"Do you know what's going to happen to you?" he had asked after a long while. She hadn't responded. "Well I've seen lots of you come by over the years. Some are taken for prostitution. Some are taken out of revenge, anger. Some are taken to torture and beat, murder. But you… something tells me that someone isn't happy with you doctor. Otherwise, why go through all this trouble? No one will find you. Everyone will think that you've done what you've always done. Run."

She didn't remember him saying anything else until much later. He had left her conjuring millions of horrific scenarios in her mind about what was going to happen to her. How no one would really know what had happened to her.

So when the man had told her that they were stopping for the day she had been both relieved and anxious. The man had gotten out of the squad car and gone to go get a room while she had tried frantically to get out of the car to no avail. 'Stupid!' she had thought, kicking the door once more 'why didn't I react like this earlier when I could've escaped?' Trying to regain her bearings, she sighed had said to herself that her instinct for survival had just finally kicked in. 'Better late than never huh?'

She had been knocked out of her musings by the car door being yanked open and finding the man dragging her towards an empty hallway.

"Make yourself comfortable, _doctor_," he sneered, "I'll be back before you've had time to miss me so don't even think of trying to get out," he said, testing the lock, "this locks from the outside. Special trick comes in handy don't you think?" he blew her a kiss and was gone.

As soon as she had gotten her shivering under control she had searched the room for any clues as to her whereabouts or how to get help. She had noticed that the nightstand connecting the two double beds had a cabinet underneath it, and thanking God and everyone else she could think of, she grabbed the phone she had found and dialed the only number she could think of dialing.

'Damn it Woody, pick up' she had thought. Hanging up in frustration, she redialed, this time waiting until she got the answering machine. She didn't get the chance to finish her message before the phone was viscously torn from her hands and thrown against the far wall.

The next thing she had known, she was drowning in a sea of emptiness.

And now as she tried to adjust her eyesight to the dim lighting, she only knew two things. One, she had no idea where she was or how she had gotten there. Her guess was that after she had been found on the phone she had been knocked out. Two, she was chained to a hard chair in the middle of a room with no windows. Feeling the familiar sense of panic overwhelm her, she tried to get her hands untied, failing miserably. Grunting in frustration, she further took in her surroundings. Feeling a rather large, warm object run over her now shoeless feet, she looked over and saw a rat running by. Shrieking, she tried to lift her feet off the ground as much as her bonds let her. Desperately trying to scoot herself away from where she saw more of the rodents, she came to a stop when she heard chuckling coming from somewhere in the room.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" she cried out, hoarsely to her dismay. 'I am not weak' she repeated over and over to herself.

"Why darling. Don't you remember me? It's me. Your husband."


	3. Chapter 3

Sooooo sorry for taking so long to update! Not only did I move in incredible short notice to another state, but I didn't have internet access for the longest time and my muse was a bit scattered.

Thank you all for your reviews! Keep em' coming!

And without further delay...

* * *

Woody anxiously ran his hands through his hair when Santana's fruitless eyes met his. They both agreed that they needed to look for something in Jordan's apartment that could tell them what had happened to her, but so far they had found nothing. Glancing around, Woody took in the aspect of her room. Clothing was thrown everywhere haphazardly, a chunk of it missing. Her bathroom was in the same state. Frustrated, he kneeled and looked under her bed. And then he saw it. Her Guitar.

Knowing that Jordan would never leave it behind, he grabbed it and stared at it for a minute. He abruptly flipped the case open. Her mother's locket, a watch he knew was Max's, communion rosary beads – he could understand why those were there, it was obvious they meant something to her. But then he found old movie stubs of movies he knew they'd seen together, cards he had given her, a dried rose conserved in a Ziploc, and then finally, a neatly arranged pile of balloons, some within others. It was these items which made his heart constrict with pain, and something much deeper. Regret.

"I swear to you Jordan, I will not lose you again. I will find you and I'm gonna bring you back home. Just hang on sweetheart," he whispered.

Straightening from his stupor, he dimly heard a frantic voice calling for him.

"Woody! Look!"

And what he saw left him speechless.

* * *

"Anything Nige?" a tired Garret asked.

After the morning's meeting, he had delegated duties in efforts to find his wayward charge. Lily was looking over old case files in hopes of finding something to go on; Nigel was working on Jordan's computer and on the phone call to Woody's apartment. Knowing he couldn't fully abandon his full crypt, Bug and Sydney were working on case loads.

And he had spent the better part of the morning on the phone with Renee, chronicling the last week Jordan has spent at the morgue. And the thought made him chuckle a bit.

"Look Garret, I know this isn't really my job, but I want to find her just as much as you do," the DA had said.

When asked why, she hesitated a little, but reluctantly confessed, "Jordan's a lot like me. Over the last few months I actually tried to get to know her and I found a person who is just as driven and who cares about her cases. And we've both changed. We work together towards the same end, she's a hell of an ME, and most importantly, she's my friend."

He'd actually gone quiet for a few moments before telling her that she'd gotten soft. She had sputtered before replying that no, she hadn't, she'd just realized that there were more important things in life and that Jordan wasn't the enemy.

Agreeing with her wholeheartedly, he promised to call her if he knew anything new and for her to do the same.

"Oh and Renee, I think motherhood suits you."

Shifting back into the present, Garret heard Nigel telling him what little he knew.

"The email was sent at 8:07am, Saturday morning, and it was sent from her computer – nothing really new there. I should know where the call to Woody's was made from in a few minutes."

Working diligently on her computer for a moment, Nigel suddenly saw something that caught his attention. Clicking on it, he felt his jaw drop open and found himself calling a retreating Garret back to him.

"Dr. M I think you need to see this!"

Garret walked back and leaned over to see what Nigel was talking about and cursed lightly.

"Damn it! Why wouldn't she say anything Nige? She knows better, especially with the type of people we deal with sometimes."

Nigel looked thoughtful for a moment before replying, "Maybe she didn't take it seriously? There are only two of them, and the first dated six months ago, the second 3 weeks ago. Our girl is impetuous, rash… a little calmer yes, but she's still Jordan at the core. She might've just blown it off when nothing came out of it… or she didn't open them at all."

"What?"

"They were in bold on her inbox. The only reason I clicked on it is because I didn't really recognize the email address, and because of the subject title…"

Just then a beeping on Nigel's computer beckoned him back to his mistress.

Looking up gravely at Garret, he said, "Fredericksville, Virginia."

"Then that's where we're going," Woody said as he and Santana came in. Woody hurriedly took out an envelope out of his pocket and handed it to Garret.

"I was going through her mail, seeing if anything looked out of place and I found that," Santana said quietly.

Garret handed the paper mutely to Nigel. Going over to Jordan's computer, he printed both emails and gave a copy to Woody and another to Santana.

All three had the same startling message.

"YOU CAN RUN DARLING, BUT YOU CAN _NEVER_ HIDE"


End file.
